Dental patients are being seen in Emergency Room departments in increasing numbers. Patients who cannot gain access to routine care are using hospitals as a point of entry to the healthcare system. Generally, these patients are fee-for-service or have Medicaid coverage.
During the years of 1997 to 2000, 693 reports of tooth pain or injury brought patients to the ER. Dental complaints nationwide ac-counted for 0.7% of all visits (2.95 million total) with the highest number of patients being between the ages of 19 to 35 years. Children younger than 7 years of age reported in the fewest numbers, with dental injury visits highest in this population. Self-pay was the most common mode of payment, and visits were higher on the weekends; 10% of the patients received care and 80% received at least one medication. Most of these patients were not admitted to the hospital, but were referred to another clinic or provider.
The ER personnel should be trained and ready to respond to dental complaints, especially if the number of those who are uninsured increases and the barriers to access are not addressed.
(Source: Dental Abstracts, Volume 49, issue 2, 2004)
